NEW YORK, Sept. 19 (Xinhuanet) -- New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Sunday that protesters arrested at the Republican National Convention broke the law and urged them not to fight their cases in court.

    The mayor sticked to his tough talk against demonstrators and said they are guilty and should simply fess up.

    "They might as well just plead guilty and go on. The truth of the matter is the city did what it was supposed to do. It protected the streets of the city and we did as good a job as we could, given the vast bulk of people who came here to get arrested.They were all treated humanely."

    About 1,500 demonstrators were arrested and detained at a Hudson River pier, some for as long as 50 hours. About 400 have opted to go to trial on mostly minor charges, including disorderly conduct.

    Some protesters have filed civil suits, claiming the city violated their First Amendment rights by making pre-emptive mass arrests in Herald Square, near the World Trade Center site and in areas adjacent to Madison Square Garden.

    However, about 600 demonstrators have accepted guilty pleas to quickly process their cases, citing the inconvenience of battling the city in court. In reference to the fact, Bloomberg said "Some said because they didn't want to come here. I suspect that most of them because they know they don't have a case. They broke the law."

    Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said, "The mayor's comment reflects a disdain forthe principle that people are innocent until proven guilty," arguing that video recording of hundreds of arrests showed that people were doing absolutely nothing wrong as demonstrating on the sidewalk is perfectly legal. Enditem